Weekend Money: Renowned chef talks about life after being conned out of £300,000 by his own mum (2025)

By Jess Sharp, Money live reporter

When Graham Hornigold first heard from his mum, he was delighted, full of "excitement and anticipation". He had gone more than 40 years without seeing her, having been in foster care from the age of two and then living with his father and stepmother.

So, when she dropped him an email in the middle of the pandemic, it was almost biological instinct that made him reply.

If he had realised that in six months, he would be £300,000 in debt, separated from his wife and wishing his mother was someone else, maybe he would have made a different choice.

The renowned pastry chef and Masterchef: The Professionals judge unveiled his story in the Netflix documentary Con Mum earlier this year.

Since the programme aired, Graham's life has been a whirlwind as he tried to recover emotionally, mentally and financially from the turmoil his mother Dionne Marie Hanna left behind.

"I was in bits, a real dark place, all alone. Your friends drop away, your family drops away, and nobody really knows what you're going through," the 50-year-old told Money.

"It's really hard to transmit those feelings because nobody can understand it unless they've really lived through it.

"You don't realise until after they have fleeced you or manipulated you beyond your wildest dreams, that you've actually left yourself exposed."

'There's nothing really to say to her - is there?'

Hanna presented herself as a wealthy, illegitimate daughter of the sultan of Brunei, initially spoiling Hornigold, and his partner at the time Heather Kaniuk, with expensive gifts - including a Range Rover and a BMW.

She told him that she had just months to live, but as time went on, she began leaving Hornigold and his friends with large bills for hotels, meals and other expenses.

Eventually, she disappeared. The Netflix documentary shows her final phone call with Hornigold, in which she claims to be in Malaysia.

Hornigold told Money that he has not spoken to her since, and he doesn't wish to.

"All I know is what I have seen in the papers, which is that she was taken [arrested] in Singapore," he said.

"There is nothing really else to say to her, is there? Thanks for carrying me," he laughed.

'Really, really dark place'

The ordeal uprooted Hornigold's life. His marriage broke down as a result, with his ex-wife and son now living in New Zealand.

"Coming back to an empty house that no longer has your child or your partner in, or your mum, was really tricky. I had to live there for a year afterwards and then clear it to sell it. That was a really, really dark place," he said.

In a bid to clear the £300,000 of debt he had been left with, he gave back the cars and managed "little by little" to pay some of the money back - with around two-thirds already paid off.

"Some [of the debt] is still sitting here because obviously you still have increased costs, and rent is higher than your old mortgage, and I live by myself," he said.

"But it's not about the money, it's just the emotional damage that's been done."

'My business is suffering'

As a top chef and a successful businessman, Hornigold has found comfort in the kitchen and in his companies - the gourmet doughnut brand Longboys, his patisserie Pretty Sweet and his consultancy Smart Patisserie.

"My work has definitely kept me busy, but that again is one of those coping mechanisms," Hornigold said.

While battling the issues in his personal life, he has also been trying to continue the success of his businesses in a tough economic climate.

"Hospitality, like most businesses now, are taking a hit," Hornigold said.

"Ingredient costs have gone up because of import taxes, the availability of goods, and the increased cost of living. There is only so much that people are willing to pay for things.

"My business is suffering today but I still have a roof over my head, I've still got a family that loves me, and I've still got my reputation.

"Hopefully, we can weather the storm."

'Everybody is struggling'

Hornigold's positivity is infectious. Despite admitting he has a "challenging" life, he said he "always looks for the light" and wants others facing difficult times to do the same.

"I'm from the generation where you just crack on. That's probably why some of the things have come to pass," he said.

"I allowed this to happen because of that need for acceptance.

"That's why we have to talk about mental health as a whole piece. It's not seen as a weakness any more. You can go out, fully masculine, and still be able to be heard and become healed without any sense of fear or weakness.

"I mean, I'm struggling, but everybody is struggling. I still can't complain though, can I?

"I mean, I still live a decent life, everybody's paid, and eventually we'll get there."

ByJess Sharp, Money live reporter

It's been another busy week for Money - especially with the launch of our first newsletter. If you haven't subscribed yet, you still can by clicking here.

Away from the newsroom, it was also a busy week for Elon Musk, who saw the end of his bromance with Donald Trump cause one of his worst wealth losses ever.

By midnight on Thursday, the billionaire Tesla owner saw $34bn erased from his personal net worth, according to Bloomberg.

Shares in his electric car company saw a 14% plunge off the back of his argument with the US president, but they rebounded by the end of the week - they were 5% up in early US dealing on Friday.

Our science and technology editor Tom Clarke explored the wider implications of the pair's break-up...

It was a good week for drivers as fuel prices fell to an almost four-year low.

The price of petrol fell by 2p in May, with drivers paying the lowest since July 2021, according to the RAC.

And diesel – which also came down by 2p – has gone below 139p for the first time since 28 September 2021.

It wasn't such great news in the mortgage market, with several lenders hiking their rates after the likelihood of near-term Bank of England base rate cuts fell.

The prominent brands to make changes included Santander increasing by up to 0.13%, First Direct by up to 0.2%, Halifax by up to 0.16% and Yorkshire Building Society by up to 0.24%.

It sparked a warning from brokers for borrowers not to wait until the "perfect moment" to lock in a deal.

You can read more about that in this week's Mortgage Guide...

Elsewhere this week, we brought you this handy tip to help you get free children's tickets to West End shows...

And, the latest data on the amount you need to have saved to enjoy a comfortable retirement...

In case you missed it at the beginning of the week, we also spoke to a learning disabilities nurse about the realities of her job, NHS pay and her most memorable patients.

We'll be back with our regular live coverage on Monday, but you can check out our Long Read feature tomorrow - we sit down with Graham Hornigold, a renowned chef who was scammed by his own mother and told his story in the Netflix documentary Con Mum.

Olivia Dean pre-sale tickets are being listed for more than £400 on secondary sites ahead of the general sale, around nine times over the face value price, a Which? investigation has found.

The Dive singer's Shepherd's Bush gig went on sale at 10am this morning.

But tickets are already appearing on secondary ticketing sites for up to £406.

According to the ticketing website Dice, Dean's ticket prices start from £44.74 at face value.

Which? notes that if fans miss out on the general sale, they will be left with no choice but to buy tickets from secondary sites at much higher prices.

Consumer law expert at Which? Lisa Webb said: "Time after time, we see tickets for popular gigs snapped up during pre-sales and sold for inflated prices on secondaryticketing sites.

"The government has pledged to introduce stronger consumer protections for ticket purchases and is currently consulting on changes.

"Which? believes ministers must seize this opportunity to put a stop to the touts and introduce a price cap to ensure that tickets can only be re-sold on secondary sites at the original price paid - the ticket's face value plus any fees."

NatWest has apologised to customers after service issues left people unable to log in to their mobile app.

More than 3,000 outages were reported through the services monitoring site Downdetector at about 10am today.

And customers are now being urged to use online or telephone banking, or go into a branch, while the bank works to fix the problem.

A spokeswoman for the bank said: "We are aware that customers are experiencing difficulties accessing the NatWest mobile banking app this morning.

"We're really sorry about this and working to fix it as quickly as possible."

High street banks have been in the firing line over a string of outages that have affected customers, particularly around the end of the month, when it is typically pay day for many households.

Data gathered by the Treasury Committee in March found there had been more than 33 days' worth of unplanned tech and system outages in the last two years for nine of the UK's biggest banks and building societies.

By James Sillars, business and economics reporter

Can he keep his trap shut?

Shares in Elon Musk's Tesla have rebounded somewhat following the 14% ($150bn) plunge of Thursday, caused by his squabble with Donald Trump.

The stock was up by almost 5% in early dealing on Wall Street.

Market analysts credited two things: That the spat between Musk and the president was probably overdone in the previous session.

The other reason: Things don't seem to have got any worse, though there are conflicting reports out of the US on the likelihood of a 'kiss and make up' phone call to help patch things up.

Watch below: The Musk-Trump feud explained

More broadly, US shares were up after official data showed the US labour market remains strong, despite the trade war hit.

The under-fire dollar also rallied slightly.

While resilient employment is good for Trump, it doesn't bode well for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in the coming months.

The Fed will likely be wary that stronger wage growth, also reported in the data, will add to inflationary pressures caused by Trump tariffs.

Ticket prices for football's Club World Cup have been slashed this week by organisers FIFA, with not long to go before the tournament begins in the US.

The cost of tickets has been cut for the opening match between Lionel Messi's Inter Miami and Egyptian side Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in Florida on 14 June.

It comes amid mounting concerns that there will be masses of empty seats at the game.

The ground has a capacity of 65,326 but there are reports that the number of tickets sold for the opening game is at less than 20,000, according to The Athletic.

But FIFA has denied this, without specifying a figure.

Ticketmaster, FIFA's official ticket partner for the tournament, is now pricing tickets as low as $55.75 (£41).

This is half of what they were available for in May, The Athletic reports.

There are 32 teams taking part in the Club World Cup, including Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid.

In a statement, FIFA said it anticipates "great attendances throughout the competition for this first-ever edition - a tournament that we believe will grow edition-on-edition".

The tournament runs through to 13 July.

Wickes has entered the FTSE 250 after reporting a "strong" first quarter.

FTSE Russell, the global index provider run by the London Stock Exchange Group, updates the firms listed on its FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indexes every three months.

Yesterday, it confirmed which of the UK's largest firms are valued highly enough to join each index based on their share value at the close of trading on 3 June.

It announced that the FTSE 100 - the index of the London Stock Exchange's highest value stocks - remained unchanged in the new update.

However, the FTSE 250 - the index of the 250 next most valuable companies - will see a raft of changes.

It said Manchester-based online retail business THG - which was previously called The Hut Group - will be among those demoted from the FTSE 250 index.

But home improvement chain Wickes will be among the beneficiaries, climbing into the index.

Wickes shares have risen by more than 50% since the start of the year after reporting resilient customer demand despite pressure on big ticket spending.

It will be joined on the index by Avon Technologies, Gamma Communications and Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust.

The changes will take effect from the start of trading on 23 June.

We've been covering the launch of Nintendo's Switch 2 on Money - from last week's disappointment to pre-order delays at GAME in the UK, to yesterday's queues around the world.

Here, Sky News' Tom Acres shares his verdict on the console.

Gamers in the UK got to pick up the Nintendo Switch 2 yesterday - some even queued up overnight.

New consoles don't come around too often, but is the latest Mario machine worth the unusually high asking price?

What does it cost - and what do you get?

If Ed Conway did a bar chart of gaming prices, it wouldn't flatter the Switch 2 very much.

It costs a rather spenny £395.99, and there's a bundle that comes with Mario Kart World for £429.99.

The game is £74.99 by itself, so it's a worthy saving considering most buyers would likely get it anyway, but it's well up on the £279.99 the first Switch launched at in 2017. You can also get a PlayStation 5 for less.

As for the console itself, it's very much an iteration. Gone are the days when Nintendo sought to revolutionise (Wii, anyone?) - this time it's stuck with the tried and tested.

That means another tablet-like device with detachable controllers for portable play, or a dock for hooking it up to the TV. A novel concept in 2017 when the original came out, less so after 150 million units sold.

How much of an upgrade is it?

Few consoles have been more vulnerable to that classic argument of a more uninitiated partner/sibling/parent: "Why have you bought that; you've already got one."

Now, the unit itself does feel a lot more premium - it's got a nice, comfortable weight and finish; a bigger screen and pretty punchy speakers; the detachable controllers and handy kickstand are sturdier.

And it's a lot more powerful than the first Switch, so you can play more graphically complex games like Cyberpunk 2077. Your old Switch games will work, too, and some benefit from the extra oomph.

But again, very iterative - it's like upgrading your iPhone for the first time in a few years, rather than the more seismic leaps of past consoles.

So, worth the money?

In my view, for most of you, right now, probably not.

Mario Kart World is the headline launch game, and, like the console itself, it's very well-made but incredibly familiar.

The choice of games is dominated by updates for older titles and pricier versions of games available elsewhere.

If you're on the fence, or a parent whose kids remain happy with their existing console, there's nothing here that screams "must buy" yet, especially given the asking price.

A few extra games you can't get anywhere else will make it more compelling - a new Donkey Kong due next month may prove worthy of going bananas over.

Of course, if you're a Nintendo super fan or gadget enthusiast, full of passion and expendable income, it's an easier sell.

In fact, you've probably already got one. What are you even doing here? Go play Mario Kart.

Greggs has announced it will be trialling two new pulled pork sandwiches.

The first option is a classic pulled pork with apple sauce and crispy onions, served in a soft corn-topped roll.

The second is a BBQ pulled pork sandwich with slaw.

The sandwichesare priced at £4 and are on offer in 20 outlets in the north of England and Scotland.

Shops that are taking part in the trial will have the sandwiches available via Click+Collect on the Greggs App.

When Money asked Greggs if the sandwiches could be rolled out to other parts of the UK, a spokesperson said: "We're always listening to what our customers want us to offer and adapting based on their tastes and habits, which is why we're trialling two new pulled pork sandwiches.

"These are currently available in selected shops and may land in a store near you in the future - so keep your eyes peeled!"

Here are the 20 stores where the sandwiches are being trialled:

• Sunderland, U1 Union Street
• Greggs @ Tesco Extra Kingston Park
• Gretna, U67B Caledonia Park, Glasgow Road
• Spennymoor, U23 Festival Walk
• Workington, 19 Murray Road
• Kelso, 47 The Square
• Egremont, 50 Main Street
• Barnard Castle, 11 Horsemarket
• Gateshead, Metrocentre, Yellow Mall
• Ferryhill, 17 Market Street
• Catterick, Richmondshire Walk Shopping Centre
• Jarrow, 17 Bede Precinct
• Felling, U5 Booth Street
• Durham, 1B Dryburn View
• Killingworth, U35 Killingworth Shopping Centre
• Seaham, Byron Place Shopping Centre
• Darlington, 289 Yarm Road
• South Shields, 285 Prince Edward Road
• Team Valley, U4 Maingate
• Thornaby, U6 Fleck Way, Teesside Industrial Estate